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Today’s key Box-Toppers numbers. Click links to jump to charts elsewhere on this page.▪️ Players of the Game
▪️ B-T points of day’s top players
▪️ Top 10 players in 2026
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Yankees pitcher Max Fried is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to second place in season player rankings.
Also Wednesday, Pirates pitcher Braxton Ashcraft rises to sixth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in 2026 Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned in the regular season through Wednesday, April 22.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | José Soriano | pi sp | Angels | 7.0 |
| 2 | Max Fried | pi sp | Yankees | 6.0 |
| 3 | Randy Vásquez | pi sp | Padres | 5.4 |
| 4 | Gavin Williams | pi sp | Guardians | 4.7 |
| 5 | Taj Bradley | pi sp | Twins | 4.7 |
| 6 | Braxton Ashcraft | pi sp | Pirates | 4.7 |
| 7 | Jeffrey Springs | pi sp | Rays | 4.0 |
| 8 | Yoshinobu Yamamoto | pi sp | Dodgers | 3.7 |
| 9 | Chris Sale | pi sp | Braves | 3.7 |
| 10 | Dylan Cease | pi sp | Blue Jays | 3.7 |
Other Player of the Game winners Wednesday include Giants pitcher Tyler Mahle, Nolan Arenado of the Diamondbacks and Nolan Schanuel of the Angels.
Player of the Day: Max Fried, Yankees
Fried struck out nine over eight scoreless innings, allowing three hits and two walks, in the 4-1 win over the Red Sox.
Fried earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 6.0 for the season, rising to second place overall, behind Angels pitcher José Soriano (7.0 points). Fried also ranks second among American League pitchers behind Soriano.
This was Fried’s sixth start of the 2026 season. The Yankees have won three of those games and Fried was the overall Box-Toppers Player of the Day in all three of those wins (previously on March 25 and March 31).
NL Player of the Day: Tyler Mahle, Giants
Mahle struck out five over seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits and two walks, in the 3-0 win over the Dodgers.
Mahle earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being National League Player of the Day, giving him 3.4 for the season, 15th in season player rankings and sixth among NL pitchers.
NL Batter of the Day: Nolan Arenado, Diamondbacks
Active season streaks
Here are the 12 players who have active streaks of earning Box-Toppers points for 13 or more consecutive seasons. Players are listed by the length of their streak and with their current team status. Also shown is the duration of their streak and their career Box-Toppers point (BTP) total.| Streak | Player | Pos | Team | Duration | BTP* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | Max Scherzer | pi sp | Blue Jays | 2009‑2026 | 257.7 |
| 17 | Andrew McCutchen | dh lf | Rangers | 2009‑2025 | 82.9 |
| 16 | Giancarlo Stanton | dh rf ph | Yankees | 2010‑2025 | 82.9 |
| 16 | Aroldis Chapman | pi mr cp | Red Sox | 2010‑2025 | 75.1 |
| 16 | Kenley Jansen | pi cp | Tigers | 2011‑2026 | 73.4 |
| 15 | Freddie Freeman | 1b | Dodgers | 2011‑2025 | 95.9 |
| 14 | Kevin Gausman | pi sp | Blue Jays | 2013‑2026 | 114.2 |
| 14 | Sonny Gray | pi sp | Red Sox | 2013‑2026 | 125.3 |
| 13 | Jacob deGrom | pi sp | Rangers | 2014‑2026 | 153.2 |
| 13 | Christian Yelich | dh | Brewers | 2014‑2026 | 80.1 |
| 13 | Nolan Arenado | 3b | Diamondbacks | 2014‑2026 | 68.4 |
| 13 | Eugenio Suárez | 3b | Reds | 2014‑2026 | 61.5 |
Arenado homered and went 4-for-4, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 11-7 win over the White Sox.
Arenado has now earned Box-Toppers points in 13 straight seasons with his first Player of the Game honor of 2026. He earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2014 with the Rockies and now has 68.4 career points, eighth among active NL batters and second among active NL third basemen, behind Manny Machado of the Padres (70.3).
His best season was 2016 with the Rockies when he had 10.7 points, first among NL batters. In 2025, he had just 1.0 point with the Cardinals. It was the third time in his career he extended his consecutive season streak finishing the year with just 1.0 point. He also did it in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season with the Rockies and in 2024 with the Cardinals.
Arenado is now one of 12 players with an active streak of earning Box-Toppers points for 13 or more consecutive seasons. Arenado’s 13-season streak is tied for ninth-longest.
AL Batter of the Day: Nolan Schanuel, Angels
Schanuel homered, doubled and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 7-3 win over the Blue Jays.
Rankings: Braxton Ashcraft, Pirates
Ashcraft rises to sixth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.
Ashcraft (7IP 4H 2R 2BB 5K ND in the 8-4 win over the Rangers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 4.7 for the season. He ranks second among NL pitchers, behind Randy Vásquez of the Padres (5.4 points).
Lucas Giolito, 31, signed to 1yr/$3M deal with #Padres. He earned 9.4 Box-Toppers points in 2025 with #RedSox (26th among AL pitchers) & was among B-T’s top 10 offseason free agents: www.box-toppers.com/blog/2025/12...
— Box-Toppers Baseball (@boxtoppers.bsky.social) 7:54 AM · Apr 23, 2026
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Debut
Orioles closing pitcher Anthony Nunez made his Box-Toppers debut Wednesday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
Nunez (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K Sv in the 8-6 win over the Royals) made his Major League debut March 28 and was playing in his 11th career game.
Scoring
Fried earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day.
Mahle earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day.
Arenado and Schanuel each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day.
All of Wednesday’s other Player of the Game winners (listed in the chart) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers
Box-Toppers tracks who contributes most to their team’s victory. Using standard box score statistics, we identify the Player of the Game for every MLB contest. In the regular season, winners earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point, with bonus points awarded to the top overall and league-specific players of the day. More on how Box-Toppers works.
Help us stay accurate! Spot a mistake? Contact Box-Toppers here so we can fix it.
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Box‑Toppers Player of the Game winners
Here is the top player from each of the day’s games listed from highest to lowest Box‑Toppers game score (BTG).| 4/22 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +12.0 | NYY 4, BOS 1 | Max Fried (W, 3‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 8.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | |
| +8.0 | HOU 2, CLE 0 | Peter Lambert (W, 1‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | ||
| NL | +7.0 | SF 3, LAD 0 | Tyler Mahle (W, 1‑3) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | |
| BAT | +6.0 | ARI 11, CHW 7 | Nolan Arenado 3B | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +6.0 | TB 6, CIN 1 | Nick Martinez (W, 1‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 8.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| +5.0 | DET 5, MIL 2 | Casey Mize (W, 2‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 | ||
| +5.0 | MIA 4, STL 1 | Janson Junk (W, 1‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| +4.1 | CHC 7, PHI 2 | Ben Brown (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | ||
| BAT | +4.0 | LAA 7, TOR 3 | Nolan Schanuel 1B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +3.0 | ATL 8, WSH 6 | Michael Harris II CF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | BAL 8, KC 6 | Anthony Nunez (S, 1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +2.1 | NYM 3, MIN 2 | Luke Weaver (W, 2‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| +2.0 | COL 8, SD 3 | Hunter Goodman C | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | `PIT 8, TEX 4 | Braxton Ashcraft | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | ||
| +1.0 | SEA 5, ATH 4 | Cal Raleigh C | 5 | 2 | 3 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ |
AL—Overall American League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box‑Toppers points.
NL—Overall National League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box‑Toppers points.
BAT—Top AL or NL Batter of the Day, worth 1.5 total Box‑Toppers points.
All other players listed here earn Player of the Game honors, worth 1.0 Box‑Toppers point.
` Pitcher had a no‑decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
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Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s Player of the Game winners
Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Player of the Game winners. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total in 2026 (’26). Also shown is their point total for this season and last (’25-26), the period 2021-2026 (’21-26) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2026 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2025 total (+/-).Back to top
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’26 | ’25‑26 | ’21‑26 | Career | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fried, Max 4011 | pi sp | nyy al | 6.0 | 20.4 | 70.6 | 87.3 | -8.4 |
| Ashcraft, Braxton 5208 | pi sp | pit nl | 4.7 | 9.4 | 9.4 | 9.4 | 0.0 |
| Mahle, Tyler 3929 | pi sp | sf nl | 3.4 | 9.1 | 29.5 | 41.5 | -2.3 |
| Harris, Michael 4682 | cf | atl nl | 2.5 | 4.5 | 15.5 | 15.5 | +0.5 |
| Martinez, Nick 3430 | pi sp | tb al | 2.0 | 8.7 | 30.8 | 37.5 | -4.7 |
| Weaver, Luke 3719 | pi cp | nym nl | 2.0 | 4.0 | 13.0 | 33.7 | 0.0 |
| Schanuel, Nolan 5011 | 1b | ana al | 1.5 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 0.0 |
| Arenado, Nolan 3306 | 3b | ari nl | 1.5 | 2.5 | 23.5 | 68.4 | +0.5 |
| Mize, Casey 4377 | pi sp | det al | 1.0 | 8.0 | 15.7 | 15.7 | -6.0 |
| Raleigh, Cal 4481 | ca | sea al | 1.0 | 7.0 | 24.7 | 24.7 | -5.0 |
| Goodman, Hunter 5033 | ca | col nl | 1.0 | 6.9 | 9.9 | 9.9 | -4.9 |
| Brown, Ben 4967 | pi mr sp | chi nl | 1.0 | 6.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 | -4.0 |
| Junk, Janson 4697 | pi sp mr | fla nl | 1.0 | 5.7 | 7.4 | 7.4 | -3.7 |
| Lambert, Peter 4155 | pi sp mr | hou al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 6.0 | 8.0 | +1.0 |
| Nunez, Anthony 5334 | pi cp | bal al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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A Box-Toppers look at Thursday’s pitching matchups
A Box-Toppers look at the upcoming day’s probable pitching matchups. Teams are paired below with visiting teams on top and home teams on the bottom. Each team’s starting pitcher is shown with their Box-Toppers point total from 2026 (’26)†, last year (’25), over five years (’21-25), and their career point total.Back to top
| Game | Starter | ’26 | ’25‑26 | ’21‑26 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ATL | Ritchie, JR* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| WSH | Cavalli, Cade 5244 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| MIL | Sproat, Brandon 5324 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| DET | Skubal, Tarik 4414 | 3.0 | 25.1 | 76.3 | 76.3 |
| PHI | Sanchez, Cristopher 4850 | 3.0 | 18.4 | 33.8 | 33.8 |
| CHC | Cabrera, Edward 4641 | 2.0 | 13.7 | 25.8 | 25.8 |
| SD | Waldron, Matt 4946 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 |
| COL | Feltner, Ryan 4635 | 0.0 | 1.7 | 7.7 | 7.7 |
| CHW | Martin, Davis 4657 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 |
| ARI | Soroka, Michael 3956 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 19.4 |
| LAD | Glasnow, Tyler 3948 | 3.7 | 8.7 | 45.5 | 69.2 |
| SF | Webb, Logan 4258 | 0.0 | 9.0 | 57.6 | 60.3 |
| NYY | Schlittler, Cam 5261 | 3.0 | 10.4 | 10.4 | 10.4 |
| BOS | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| MIN | Ryan, Joe 4539 | 1.0 | 12.7 | 48.5 | 48.5 |
| NYM | Scott, Christian* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| PIT | Chandler, Bubba 5269 | 1.0 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 |
| TEX | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | 2.0 | 13.0 | 47.8 | 153.2 |
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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